In parallel to the European Handball Championships in Germany, the Asian Championships took place in recent weeks. There was a scandal in the semi-finals.
The European Handball Championship in Germany is currently electrifying the nation. The DHB team will meet top favorite Denmark in the semi-finals of the tournament on Friday evening. While the finalists are still being played out in Europe, the Asian Handball Championship has just ended. As in 2022, Qatar secured the title. The desert state defeated Japan 30:24.
It wasn’t the final that caused excitement, but the semi-finals. There the Japanese had to deal with hosts Bahrain. In the end they had the upper hand with 20:17,
Apparently this didn’t go down well with the Bahrainis. The players quickly identified the culprits for the defeat: the referees. Video clips are circulating on social media that show how, after the final whistle, several Bahraini players march towards the edge of the pitch and begin to push the South Korean referee. Afterwards, one of them even has to be held in check by his teammates, but tries to break away because he is beside himself with anger.
Pack formation in the center circle
The referee is led away by security staff. Meanwhile, the Japanese are celebrating their coup, jumping happily in circles until they realize that something is wrong. Then suddenly there is turmoil in the center circle. A Bahraini player argues with a Japanese player and then attacks him. A pack forms with further small pushes. Then the video stops.
“Bild” now reports that the behavior of the Bahraini actors had consequences. Five players from the host team were not allowed to take part in the third place game against Kuwait. Nevertheless: The game was won 26:17 despite the failures.